The Female Alpha’s Sanctuary

Chapter 12

Chapter 12 Bentley, Duskfall and Lila were my life savers. They pulled me from the darkest corner of my life. They gave me the true understanding of what “family” meant. From randomly being invited to dinners, included in social events, asked to come over at houses, befriending almost everyone in the pack and freely spending my time at the garden without being judged, Duskfall was my sanctuary. A pack free from the poisonous tentacles of dramatics. It hurt to know that someday I would leave it all behind. That my time here was ticking. This privilege of living life to the fullest was limited. It was all in the hands of Landon. The mate who didn’t want me.

“Of course we can.” I looked up to Bentley who nodded at my silent question for approval. Giving him one last smile, I leaned down to carry Lila against my chest before walking off to the flower garden. She locked her legs together, squeezing my waist between them as her arms hung around my neck. Lila squirmed in my hold, her small hand clutching onto the back of my shirt as she buried her face in the cr ook of my neck. I felt a small laugh escape me when she peered over my shoulder to look at Bentley before quickly ducking down when he caught her stare. The little pup was quite the cutie. We walked down the trail for about seven minutes of silence when she asked, “Selly, are you going to leave?” I flinched at the suddenness of her question. She never really asked about my stay until now. I stopped walking mid-step to look down at her before continuing our way to the flower garden. She kept her head down, the crown of her head the only thing I could see. She was playing with a lock of my hair, her fingers combing through the strands at the ends. Lila knew I was only ‘visiting’ for a while. Everyone in the pack knew that. They didn’t know for what reason, though. Some would ask but INôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

brushed it off saying it was some minor issue back home. I could only guess what kind of excuse Landon came up with. I highly doubt he would go on a limb to say that I was his rejected mate and he needed me to stay away so he can mark and mate my sister. I wasn’t eager to receive looks of pity from them either if I told them the truth. I had my fill of that from Bentley– the only one I ever told. He was angry for me, but most of all I could see the sympathy under those bluish green eyes. His mate had passed on a few years back, but he was happy. He was content. He had the chance to love and cherish his mate til her very last breath. It was an honor, he said. An honor to have been the one to provide her with a lifetime full of love and affection. An honor to be her mate that she had blessed with a family of three. Him, her and their son, Isaac. Issac was supposedly out of pack territory training to become the next Gamma at a training camp in the South. Gamma’s and Beta’s were chosen by the reigning Alpha. They weren’t passed down from generation to generation like Alpha’s were. After choosing the candidate, they were sent to train for the position. It was only after the completion of their extensive training that they were given a ceremony to officially accept the title. There was a lot of requirements to pass the standards. Bentley keeps close contact with his son. He writes him letter that he would receive a response to every two weeks. I could see with the way his eyes glimmer with pride when he speaks of him that his son was his biggest joy. Being mateless and away from his son, did make him feel quite lonely. So when Lila came into the picture, he found a new sense of purpose. He would take care of her with the remaining years he had left in him. Bentley often said he misses his mate, Maria, dearly. Sometimes still seeing her sitting in her favorite couch with her legs propped up reading a romance novel. She may have ag ed, but she’s still the romantic she always was when we first met at sixteen. The warmth in his eyes as he said that tugged at my heart. In both good and bad ways. It was only then did I realize I wouldn’t have any of that. I wouldn’t have anyone to just sit around and do nothing with. To

just enjoy and revel in each other’s company. No one to memorize their little habits and mechanisms. I tried not thinking about it too much, but it was hard not to when I could physically feel my bond with Landon weaken. Turns out what he said was true. The mate bond was slowly loosening and I felt every layer forcibly removed by his increasing emotional bond to Hestia deep in my bones. Every time I felt it, a piece of me fell away. Suddenly, a sharp pain twisted in my gut. I hunched over, mo uth open in a soundless scream when I fell onto the ground. I managed to keep myself from falling face first because of the little girl still in my arms. She was the only thing racing through my mind. Lila squealed, startled from my wheezing. She squirmed in my hold until I let go but I couldn’t breathe. My hands shakily clutched onto the fabric over my heart. My mind going hazy as my vision began to black out.